'Totally terrific treehouses' take over arboretum
by Marisa Helms, Minnesota Public Radio
June 27, 2004

Sugar Maple Ship, by landscape architect James Robin is one of the designs chosen for the "Totally Terrific Treehouses" exhibition (MPR Photo/Marisa Helms)

There's something about a treehouse. Up high above the world, a treehouse affords kids and adults the ability to see things from a different perspective. It can be a special, private space that says "No grown-ups allowed!"
Many people create designs in their heads for the perfect treehouse, but they rarely get to build them. This summer, at the Minnesota Arboretum, local designers and architects have seen their treehouse dreams become a reality.

"This one I think is fun. The flying through the trees. The sort of Peter Pan kind of thing."

Red and orange sails form the shell of the flying houseboat. It's fastened at each end to neighboring maples.

Bigelow has an idea about why a treehouse like this is irresistible to kids and parents alike.

"It's both a combination of fantasy and architecture. So these are sort of the ultimate Tinker Toy," she says. "If you had these materials, and a crew of a few people, and the right place in your yard, yeah, you could do this."

Organizers chose 12 treehouses from over 30 proposals.

Bigelow says the critical requirement was trees were not to be violated in any way. No drilling. No nails. No spikes. The houses had to somehow incorporate the tree, but not make a dent in it. No punctures. No footing. No bolting.

Back at his studio, "Growth" designer Jon Vandervelde laughs about his sculpture's popularity with children.

He agrees with Jonah. He designed his treehouse thinking it would be used by one person at a time for quiet contemplation.

Vandervelde put a chair at the top of the twisting spiral ladder, among the leafy branches. There's a pizza tray there too, with a bird feeder on it.

"The idea being that you have this bird feeder that's in your lap as you sit in that chair high in the foliage," he says. "And if you sit very, very still, and there's not noise around you, the birds will come and eat right in your lap as it were. So that is the concept. And, I think it will work. I haven't proved it yet. Every time I go there it's surrounded by screaming children. So there's no chance to see if the birds are going to come or not."

Which may just prove, that even with time, money and expertise, it's still tough to fullfill fantasies, at least when it comes to treehouses.

Adults can relive their childhood, with or without kids, at the Totally Terrific Treehouses exhibit. It runs until October 10th at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chaska.